Investors are seeing divisions amid the climate efforts of energy companies

(Reuters) – Investors are judging how well energy companies have redirected their businesses to cut emissions while measuring campaigners’ calls for disinfection, financial experts said climate Thursday.

Growing differences between oil majors have become clear as companies are positioned to achieve “zero-zero” emissions, becoming more focused on renewable energy and resisting gas emissions. greenhouse with measures such as carbon capture or conservation efforts, experts said at a Reuters Next panel held online.

“We are differentiating between companies that are really trying to manage the transition, and those that are not,” said Adam Matthews, Church of England Pension Board official who oversees the transfer. involved with companies in their portfolio. The church manages more than 2.8 billion pounds ($ 3.8 billion) in cash.

He named Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Occidental Petroleum Corp as companies that were taking positive steps, and said that Exxon Mobil Corp. “goes against the approach of others.

Shell and Occidental have set net-zero targets; Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in December “we respect and support the association’s desire to achieve zero net emissions by 2050.”

Social pressures are a major stimulus for energy companies as they shift their business models, said Sven Reinke, senior vice president at Moody’s Investor Service, another panel spokesman. “A company that goes against the association, sooner or later, will have financial difficulties,” he said.

But investors will also be looking at the ability of companies to generate money, Reinke said, noting that some like Shell have cut their benefits. “The real danger for these companies is that they may not be able to maintain their investor base,” he said.

John Flint, a former group chief executive at HSBC Holdings Plc, said oil operators should consider running their own “pressure tests” on the climatic aspects of their operations, as banks would have to to do after the financial crisis.

While the prospect may be daunting for power officials, Flint said, having been through experience as a banker, “there is nothing to be afraid of. ”

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